Keeping Secrets From Magic
by Zenyetta
Summary: Arthur knows. Merlin doesn't know Arthur knows. Arthur knows Merlin doesn't know he knows. How will Merlin react when he finds out Arthur knows?


**Keeping Secrets From Magic**

The crisp snow crunched under the boots of the prince of Camelot as he tracked a small herd of wild boar through the forest. Spread out several paces behind him were the four soldiers he'd brought along to help. He led them stealthily through the trees and brush on this winter day. They all tread carefully, attempting to make as little noise as possible. It was bad enough that the snow crunched softly as they stepped, no one wanted to add to it the sharp snap of a twig or branch. Directly behind Arthur walked his servant, Merlin.

Usually, the young man made an obscenely amount of noise when hunting, to Arthur's way of thinking, so Merlin was instructed to walk in the same footprints as the prince. It seemed to be working for Merlin's steps were amazingly quiet, for him. Periodically, a winter cloak would brush a bush or thicket and cause a clump of snow to fall with its resulting "frump" as it hit the ground. The snow outlined the trees branches and bushes of the forest and the winter whiteness seemed to take all color away so that everything appeared to be in black or white with tones of gray here and there. Even the bright red cloaks of the men seemed dulled by the snowy landscape.

Suddenly, Arthur raised a fist in the air and everyone halted, except Merlin who was a half step late and bumped into the prince. Arthur looked at him exasperated, but said nothing. There was a new sound in the forest; the sound of galloping feet and it was coming from behind them. They turned in time the see the creature bounding towards them. For several seconds, the band stood staring, stunned at the sight of the beast. It was initially a red lion's body, but the face was that of a human male surrounded by a mane. From it's opened mouth, showing far more teeth than any animal needed, a sound like that of a flute and trumpet issued forth. It stopped short in front of the soldiers and lowered its front as it raised its tail…a scorpion's tail. Quickly, it struck one of the soldiers with its stinger. The man clutched his chest and fell to the ground.

"MANITCORE!" Merlin shouted. He'd seen such an animal pictured and described in his book of magic.

Immediately, Arthur pushed Merlin behind him and raised his spear. He aimed and threw, hitting the beast in the shoulder. The spear must have struck bone because it fell away. The manticore reared and trumpeted in anger. It swiped out with a paw and knocked two soldiers aside and unconscious, then it stung the fourth in the leg, knocking him out. Arthur managed to avoid a whip of the creature's tail and ran to a dropped spear. He picked it up, aimed and hurled it. This time the beast was struck in the side, but the manticore kicked out with a hind leg that sent the prince tumbling.

The prince lay unconscious and still for many seconds, then came to and blinked trying to clear his vision. He looked over to see where his servant was and saw a fiercely determined Merlin facing the manticore. Before he could call out for Merlin to run, Arthur saw his servant raise a hand to one of the dropped spears. To Arthur's amazement, he saw it rise into the air unaided, sheath itself in a silvery fire, then hurl itself, obviously at Merlin's direction, into the beast's chest. Severely wounded, the manticore ran off into the woods.

Taken by surprise and utterly astonished, Arthur quickly turned his head away and pretended to still be unconscious. Did he really see what he thought he saw? His vision was blurred and his head hurt badly. Maybe he was mistaken. Did he really see his servant use magic?

Merlin hurried to Arthur's side, calling his name and asking if he were injured.

"I'm alright, Merlin," Arthur told him groggily. "See to the others."

As Merlin ran to the injured soldiers, Arthur quickly considered what to do about the young man. The law dictated that Merlin had to be arrested and handed over for trial. With his father, the king, as prime judge and himself as an eyewitness, it was blatantly obvious what the result would be. No, for now he would say nothing.

In a few minutes, Merlin reported back to Arthur. "Two are dead. The other two are alive but injured," he said. "One has both legs broken; the other has a broken arm and leg."

"Get back to the horses, Merlin, and ride with all speed to Camelot," the prince instructed. "Get Gaius and bring him here."

"I will do that just as soon as I get a fire going," Merlin answered.

Quickly, Merlin found dry wood and kindling and started a fire (with flint and steel, not magic, Arthur noted) near the man with the broken legs. He couldn't be moved. As gently as he could, Merlin helped the other soldier to the fire and made sure both men had their cloaks wrapped around them. Then he got Arthur to his feet. Arthur reeled a moment as a wave of nausea spread over him, and he fell to his knees and vomited. Merlin managed get the prince over to the fire and threw his cloak over him. When he saw that the two soldiers were shivering, he took the cloaks from the dead and gave them to the soldiers. The dead were beyond feeling the cold. Luckily, Arthur's cloak was lined with beaver fur, while the soldier's cloaks had squirrel linings.

"I'll be back as fast as I can," Merlin told them and was off.

As Arthur lay by the fire with his men, a worried look played across his face. What was he going to do about Merlin? All his life he'd heard from his father that magic was evil and anyone who practiced magic was evil, and that all magic users were out to destroy the kingdom. But didn't Merlin's actions, or lack thereof, contradict his father's beliefs? Not once since Merlin arrived had the boy done anything that would constitute a willingness to destroy the kingdom. Quite the opposite. Merlin would complain about the jobs he was given, but at no time did he retaliate with magic. Not even when he was forced to wear The Hat. The thought made Arthur smile and eased the frown lines on his face. He was surprised now that Merlin hadn't turned him into a hamster for that. And for Arthur, that proved that Merlin wasn't evil, no matter what his father said.

As the sun began to sink below the horizon of trees and the cold seemed to draw in closer, Arthur heard the sound of hooves and wheels. Merlin, driving a cart, had returned with Gaius who was driving another cart. With them came Sir Leon and two knights. Arthur ordered Gaius to see to the wounded men before himself, as Merlin put a pot on the fire and emptied a jug of soup into it. As Arthur watched Merlin, he imagined him making fire with a few words of magic or even heating the pot with a heating spell. Heating spell? Was there such a thing? Arthur found himself in the strange position of wanting to know about magic; of wondering if Merlin could teach him a spell or two. No, that way lies madness.

Merlin helped Gaius splint and bandage the wounded soldiers, then finally Gaius was able to see to the prince's needs.

"My lord, I believe you have a concussion," Gaius told him. "I advise complete bed rest for the next two days."

"But I have duties that need tending. I can't lie in bed for two days," the prince whined.

"Concussions are tricky things, my lord. If they are not dealt with properly, they can lead to more serious afflictions."

"Nonsense," Arthur scoffed and attempted to stand up. Suddenly, the world started to spin at a tilt and the nausea was back. Arthur had to quickly sit down. "I see what you mean, Gaius."

Merlin noted it was amazing how Gaius' face could say, "I told you so," without uttering a word, just a look. Leon and the knights put the two bodies in one cart and covered them with a sheet. Merlin got bowls out and passed around soup to everyone. Gaius brought out blankets and put one around each wounded man. Merlin had to assist the soldier with the broken arm with his bowl of soup. After the meal was over, Leon and the knights helped the soldiers into the empty cart. Gaius made Arthur sit beside him on the cart rather than have him bounced along on horseback. The physician wasn't taking any changes with the prince's concussion as they headed back to Camelot.

As Arthur rode beside Gaius on the cart, it suddenly occurred to him that the physician may know about Merlin's magic, too. As much as he wanted to ask, the prince kept his silence.

Grumpily, Arthur took Gaius' advice and stayed in bed, well, stayed in his room, for the next two days. If he hadn't, Gaius and the king would probably have ordered Merlin to sit on him to make sure the prince rested. Sitting in his bed the next day, he watched Merlin tidying up the room which was extra messy since the prince hadn't left it in twenty-four hours. Merlin jabbered his usual nonsense when Sir Leon bid entry. He'd come to tell Arthur that some hunters from another village had discovered the snow covered corpse of the manticore. It had died of its wounds and the carcass had been burnt and buried.

"Looks like your last hit did the trick, my lord," Merlin commented.

Arthur was somewhat touched. Merlin was freely giving him credit for something he hadn't done. A sense of honor made the prince want to correct him. A sense of honor made him want to say to his servant, "No, Merlin, it was you. You dealt the fatal blow. I saw you." Common sense told his sense of honor to shut up.

"I've finished up here, my lord, I'll go get you lunch now," Merlin said. "Please try not to mess it up before I get back." Arthur just smiled at his cheekiness.

Alone in his room, Arthur pondered the situation. His servant, his friend, was a wizard capable of dispatching monsters like manticores. Arthur now wondered if that included dragons. Who had actually rid Camelot of the Great Dragon? He remembered stabbing the dragon in the chest with his spear, then he was knocked out. When he came to, Merlin was standing alone and the Great Dragon had gone. Merlin told him his stab had sent the dragon packing, but had it really? Or, had Merlin's magic actually done it? If so, that did not sound like someone who wanted to destroy Camelot. If that were true, Merlin could have just walked away and let Camelot fall. But instead, the young man came with him to face the dragon.

"Do you know how many times I've had to save your royal backside?" Merlin had told him before they rode out to what seemed like certain death. Arthur had wondered what he meant by that and now he gave the statement some serious consideration.

As he settled back against the pillows and closed his eyes, a thought occurred to him, _"Merlin doesn't know I know! I wonder how long it will be before he confesses to me? I wonder what it will take to make him do it?"_

Things went along as usual in Camelot with no one is the wiser about anything. Arthur trained his knights as the war with King Cenred continued. Gaius made his rounds and tended the sick. Merlin did the chores Arthur gave him and complained with whiney comments and snarky remarks. He was too busy to plot the downfall of the kingdom.

One day, the prince decided to press the issue a bit. Arthur decided to give Merlin a difficult, nearly impossible task – just to see what he would do.

"Merlin, this room needs a thorough going over," he told his servant one day.

"My lord, I just finished cleaning your room," Merlin complained. "It's spotless."

"Not up there it isn't," Arthur said pointing to the ceiling. Around the room, the stone molding two feet from the ceiling – and twelve feet from the floor - was clearly sporting a thick layer of dust, and an ample sprinkling of cobwebs could be seen hanging from the upper corners of the room.

"How do you expect me to get up there?" asked Merlin exasperated.

"I'm sure you'll think of something, Merlin," Arthur said with a smile. "I'm going for a ride, I expect it to be done by the time I get back." Arthur left Merlin with a furrowed brow and a hand anxiously running through his dark hair.

Arthur smiled fiendishly as he walked to the stables. He purposely left his riding gloves in his wardrobe so he'd have an excuse for returning so soon and catching Merlin using magic to clean his room. Arthur rode out of Camelot (making a great fuss in case Merlin was watching him from his bedroom window), and down to the lake, guessing how much time it would take for his servant to complete his task. If when he returned, the dust and cobwebs were gone, Arthur would know Merlin used magic. An ordinary person would still be cleaning.

Some time later, Arthur re-entered Camelot through a "back door," and tiptoed to the door of his chambers. Carefully, he turned the latch and slightly opened the door. He silently counted to three, then burst into the room saying, "I forgot to bring my riding gloves."

Merlin was up on a ladder over the fireplace with a long pole, a of bundle of rags tied to the end. He was using it to get at the dust and cobwebs on the upper parts of the wall. Arthur's sudden entrance into the room startled Merlin so that he cried out in alarm as he dropped the pole and grabbed the ladder that started to come away from the wall.

"Merlin!" the prince exclaimed as the pole hit the floor in a cloud of dust. "What are you doing?"

"I'm doing what you asked," Merlin replied as he clung to the ladder, annoyed at the prince.

"You're using a ladder?" Arthur asked in surprise.

"How the hell else was I supposed to get up here?" came the insolent reply. "You nearly scared the life out of me, coming in like that."

"This is my room and I may enter it as I please," Arthur said. "How are you getting on?"

"I've finished that wall," Merlin told him, pointing. "I'm almost done with this one provided no one else comes in like demon."

Arthur merely nodded and got his riding gloves. "See that you finish before I get back."

In the hall, Arthur had to stop and think. His plan hadn't worked. Merlin hadn't used magic to clean the upper walls. He was actually doing the work himself. Why? If he can kill manticores, why is he up on a ladder with a stick? Did that mean he _always _did the work himself? The cleaning, the laundry, the mucking? Merlin sure picked a strange way to destroy the kingdom, one cobweb and dust ball at a time.

Over the coming months, when they were alone, Arthur would occasionally be tempted to do little things to try to make Merlin show he could do magic, and each time it failed with Merlin not using his gift. And each time it did fail, Arthur became more questioning of his father's obsessed view of sorcery.

In late August, a report came to Camelot that a wyvern was making life miserable for the inhabitants of a town.

"A wyvern is something like a dragon, sire," Gaius explained to Uther and the council. "It is smaller and has two legs with eagle-like talons and a beak-like jaw."

"It doesn't sound too formidable," Arthur said.

"I wouldn't be too complacent, my lord," said Gaius. "It's much more aggressive than a dragon and has a tail tipped with a barb. It also possess wings which allows it to fly quite deftly. And it will eat anything."

"I believe my knights and I will be able to vanquish it," Arthur said proudly. "We'll leave tomorrow morning."

In Gaius' chambers, Merlin prepared to leave with Arthur. "Will I be able to use my dragonlord power on the wyvern?" Merlin asked.

"Yes, Merlin, though a wyvern is not of the same breed, only the same species," Gaius told him. "And unlike a dragon, a wyvern is susceptible to magic."

"Can conventional weaponry kill it?" Merlin asked.

"Yes, I think it can," Gaius replied. "However, if anyone has actually killed a wyvern with sword, arrow or spear, he's not lived to tell the tale."

"I'll be careful, Gaius. I won't let anything happen to Arthur," Merlin assured his mentor.

"And see that nothing happens to you, my boy," Gaius added fondly.

Merlin, Arthur and two knights rode forth in the morning when the sun had barely glinted over the horizon. They rode briskly to cover as much ground as possible before it got any hotter. They reached the beleaguered village when the sun was directly overhead. The head man sent the village's best tracker to show the prince's party where the wyvern prowled. The man led them through a dense wood to a cave in the side of a rocky hill. The scattered bones of animals and, uncomfortably, humans lay about the cave's entrance. Arthur thanked the man for his help and sent him back to the village. He and his men would handle things from here.

The party dismounted and secured their horses. With spears at the ready they entered the cave. Merlin carried a lit torch with an extra one in his belt. He also carried an extra spear. It was very silent inside, not even the sound of bats. Presently, the cave divided.

"Why is there always a fork?" Merlin moaned quietly and was shushed by Arthur.

"You two take the right," Arthur told the knights. "We'll take the left. Call out if you find anything."

Merlin lit the extra torch and handed it to one of the men. "Good luck," he said to them.

Further into the cave, at a dead end, Arthur and Merlin came upon a small mound of treasure. There were cups, plate, jewelry, headbands, and coin in gold and silver, and loose jewels. There were also mirrors, polished pieces of armor, and polished shields.

"That's not good," Merlin whispered.

"What?" Arthur asked.

"Gaius said wyverns are attracted to shiny things and guard their hoard jealously," Merlin explained. "If he comes back and finds us here…."

Merlin failed to finish his sentence as heavy footsteps and a loud roar was heard behind them. Arthur immediately pulled Merlin behind him. The wyvern was much smaller than the Great Dragon, about the size of a griffin, and it was definitely not happy to find interlopers around its treasure. It whipped around its barbed tail at the men, but they ducked and avoided it.

"Men, hurry!" Arthur cried out. "It's in here!" Hopefully, the two knights would arrive in time.

As the wyvern strode closer on its two legs, Arthur stabbed at it with his spear. The wyvern actually parried the thrusts with its wings. Arthur did his best to attempt to spear and wound the beast, but the wyvern was a nimble creature. It had an opposable thumb on each wings that tried to grab the spear, but it was its barbed tail that hooked the weapon and jerked it out of Arthur's grip. As the wyvern reared up to bellow in triumph at disarming its foe, Arthur grabbed the second spear from Merlin and jabbed it into the creature's stomach. The wyvern screamed in pain and pulled the spear out with its beak.

As Arthur drew his sword he called out again to his knights. Perhaps they were too far into the other cave section to hear him.

The wyvern must have realized its victims were trapped, because it folded its wings behind it and lashed out with its tail. Merlin and Arthur ducked, jumped and scurried along the wall to get out of the way. Arthur realized that he would probably not be able to get out of this situation alive without help.

"Well, aren't you going to do something about this?" he yelled at Merlin.

Merlin looked at the back of Arthur's head incredulously. "Huh? Me? What are you talking about?"

"Just don't stand there looking stupid, use your magic!" Arthur ordered.

Merlin could _**not**_ believe he just heard Arthur tell him to use magic.

"Do it, you idiot! I can't keep this up forever!"

Merlin stepped forward and stretched out a hand. Once again, as Arthur had seen with the manticore, a silvery fire enveloped his sword. It flew out of the prince's hand and struck the wyvern's chest, piercing its heart. The beast screamed in agony and fell down dead.

"You knew?" Merlin said, not turning to face the prince.

"I suspected, but I wasn't certain," Arthur replied. "Now, I am."

"Arthur, I…." Merlin started.

Arthur cut him short. "We'll discuss this when we get back."

Presently, the two knights came running into the chamber. They congratulated the prince on killing the wyvern. Arthur merely smiled. "Let's go tell the village."

The villagers were overjoyed to hear the wyvern had been destroyed by their prince and his men. They wanted to reward him, but he politely declined. Instead, he distributed the coin from the wyvern's hoard to each family. The rest Arthur took back to Camelot.

The trip back to Camelot was pleasant enough for Arthur and his knights. They talked and joked and enjoyed the early summer evening. For Merlin, who was trailing behind them, it was the long road to certain doom. He was silent and morose, terrified of the fate that lay ahead. He considered just turning and riding away, but where would he go? If he went back to Ealdor, his mother might be put in danger and he wasn't about to let that happen. No, he would return to Camelot with Arthur and see what happened.

As the rode into the courtyard of Camelot castle, stable hands came out to take the horses. Arthur cordially dismissed his knights and, without a glance at Merlin, went inside to his chambers.

Merlin stood in the courtyard, not quite certain what to do next. He couldn't face Gaius, not yet anyway. Instead, he made his way to the lower levels of the castle, to the disused vaults where he once hid a frightened, cursed woman.

Merlin sat on the floor amongst the rubble of the disused vault with a small ball of glowing light he created. He was actually shivering with fright and apprehension. Arthur knew about his magic. The king's son _knew_. Why hadn't he turned him in? What was Arthur waiting for? Uther would find him guilty of sorcery and therefore treason, and he would condemn him to death. Merlin wondered if it hurt to have your head chopped off, or was it so swift that you really didn't feel anything. And he didn't even want to think about burning.

Of course, Merlin wasn't going to stand there and allow his head to be removed or be burned. No, he would use his magic to escape, but he worried about Gaius. The court physician had come to be as close to him as his own father. He'd known Balinor only a few hours before he died; he'd known Gaius for years. Surely, Uther would conclude the old man knew of Merlin's gifts all this time and said nothing. That was also treason and a death sentence. He could take Gaius to Ealdor, collect his mother and they could try to make a new life in another kingdom. It seemed like a plan, maybe, but first he had to find out what Arthur was going to do. With a heavy sigh, Merlin extinguished the light, stood and headed for his room.

Gaius was appalled by the sight of his charge when he came through the door. Merlin's usually pale complexion was ashen and there was the hint of dark circles under his eyes, which had a scared, anguished, and hunted look. Gaius immediately stopped what he was doing and went to the boy.

"Merlin, in the name of reason, what is wrong?" he asked as he guided the boy in and shut the door. "Have you done something?" He could feel the boy's body quivering.

Merlin didn't answer, how could he? How could he tell his mentor he could be dead within the week? When a page knocked on the door, Merlin jumped. "Merlin, what has frightened you so?" Gaius asked.

The two men had been summoned to the prince's chambers. Merlin walked through the halls of Camelot as if going to the gallows. Gaius knocked on the prince's door and they were bid to enter. Arthur was standing at his window when they came in. He turned and approached them.

"Sire," Gaius said with a bow as Merlin closed the door. "You wanted to see us?"

"Yes. Merlin, I know you have magic," the prince said calmly without preamble. Even with head bowed, Merlin winced.

Gaius went pale at Arthur's statement. Now he understood Merlin's appearance. Gaius began to speak, but Arthur held up a hand to silence him.

"I've known you to be a wizard since I saw you use magic to kill the manticore last winter," Arthur added. Merlin looked at him in astonishment.

"And yet you've said nothing all this time?" Gaius said.

"No, I haven't. Why should I? Merlin's done nothing that I would call evil," said Arthur. "Quite the contrary if you ask me. Merlin is proof that my father's attitude to magic is wrong. All sorcerers are _not_ evil."

Merlin actually fainted.

The stress he was under, the uncertainty, it was all too much. Gaius and Arthur got Merlin off the floor and put him a chair. Arthur got a cup of water and splashed it in Merlin's face. That brought the young man around.

"Feeling better?" Arthur inquired. Merlin nodded. "Gaius, I assume that you already knew about Merlin's gift."

"Yes, my lord. I've known since the first day he came here. He saved my life that day," Gaius said.

"See? That proves to me that Merlin is not evil and I will not give over an honest man to an unjust law for using his talents for good," Arthur proclaimed. "Neither of you have anything to fear from me. I swear that I will keep your secret."

"Thank you, sire, that is most comforting to know," said Gaius.

"You can go, Gaius," the prince said. "I wish to speak further with my servant."

"Merlin?" Gaius queried.

"I'm fine, Gaius," he replied.

The court physician bowed and left the room. His heart felt lighter now that there was another to share the burden of carrying Merlin's secret.

"So, Merlin, you're a sorcerer," Arthur stated.

"Yes, my lord," Merlin replied, not knowing what else to say.

"And how long have you been a sorcerer?"

"I was born with magic. I've been able to use magic since I was a baby," Merlin answered.

"I see. And why did you come to Camelot?" the prince asked.

"I was sent here by my mother. She knew Gaius. She feared my gift would be found out if I stayed in Ealdor and the other villagers wouldn't tolerate me," the servant replied. He felt like he was being interviewed for a job.

"But your friend, Will knew, did he? He covered for you," Arthur said.

"Will was the only one who did, other than my mother," Merlin answered as he remembered his best friend.

"Before we went to face the dragon, you said you had saved my life many times," Arthur remarked. "It was you who sent the ball of light when Nimueh trapped me in the cave with the Mortius flowers, wasn't it?"

"Yes," Merlin said simply.

"Gaius told me you were gravely ill most of that time. Even then you helped me, saved me. Why?"

"You're the future king, Arthur. Albion needs you, I couldn't let you die because of me," Merlin replied.

"I've made your life miserable so many times, you could have just let me perish."

"I couldn't do that. You're a good man at heart, Arthur, the kind of man that will become the kind of king Albion needs if it is to become even greater," Merlin told him.

Arthur was surprised at his words. He hadn't realized his servant had such faith in him.

"What else have you done on my behalf?" the prince asked.

Merlin spoke of past events where he quietly used his gifts to trip up a foe or disarm an enemy and saved Arthur from harm.

"I caused the snakes on Valiant's shield to appear and I created the poultice that cured Gwen's father," Merlin said.

"You almost got Gwen killed for that bit of magic," Arthur said, slightly annoyed.

"I know, I wasn't thinking. I just wanted to save her father," Merlin replied. "She was so distraught." Arthur nodded in agreement.

"So, you've been protecting me for all these years. It was you, wasn't it, who hurled the spear at the boar, not Cedric," said the prince.

"Yes, that was me, too."

"And yet you let him take the credit for it," said Arthur. "And to think I gave that cheat a place here attending me."

"Makes you appreciate me more, doesn't it?" Merlin quipped.

Arthur just rolled his eyes. Then, he had a sudden thought. "Wait a minute, all this means Aredian's accusation was right!" Arthur exclaimed.

"Yep," said Merlin. "He had me."

"And Gaius stepped in to take the blame and nearly died for it. He must really care for you, Merlin. Like you were his son."

"He was innocent, I had to save him," said Merlin. "He's been like a father to me."

"Is that why you made Aredian spit out a live frog?" Arthur asked with a grin.

"It was a bit much, wasn't it?" Merlin snickered.

"Just a tad...pole," Arthur punned, and they both laughed. Then Arthur got serious.

"There's one more thing I must know, Merlin. Who actually dispatched the Great Dragon? I know I stabbed him, but did I really deal him a mortal blow?"

"His name is Kilgharrah," said Merlin. "And no, he wasn't dealt a mortal blow. You speared him on the left side. A dragon's heart in on the right."

"So, really what happened?" asked Arthur.

"I sent him away," Merlin answered.

"You what? He's still alive?" Arthur cried. "Merlin, why didn't you destroy him?"

"Kilgarrah is the last of his breed, all of his kin were destroyed by your father," Merlin told him. "Then Uther massacred all the dragonlords save one, Balinor."

"Just a minute," said Arthur. "You agreed that we needed a dragonlord to deal with Kilgarrah. Obviously, your magic wasn't enough. So, with Balinor dead, how did you deal with him?"

"I spoke his language," Merlin explained. "I ordered him to stop his revenge and to leave Camelot. I told Kilgarrah if ever attacked us again, I would surely kill him."

"You have a dragonlord's power now?" Arthur asked him.

"Yes. But it was only after my father died that I inherited his power," said Merlin. "Balinor was my father."

Arthur was dumbstruck. He covered his face with his hands, muttering, "Oh God, no." He looked into his servant's quiet face. "And I told you no man was worth your tears. I'm so sorry, Merlin. Truly, I am so sorry." Merlin nodded acceptance.

Arthur and Merlin came to a new understanding in their relationship. It was still noble and servant, but now it was also prince and wizard.

"Well, if you'll excuse me, my lord, I still have chores to complete," said Merlin, brightening the mood. "Your clothes won't wash themselves."

"I bet they will," smirked Arthur and Merlin grinned back.

"Merlin, one more thing before you go. Just out of curiosity, is there a heating spell?" the prince asked. "You know, a spell to heat things up like water, tea, soup, things like that?"

"Yes, there is, my lord," Merlin replied, not sure where this was going.

"Do you think you could teach me?" Arthur asked.

The request totally surprised Merlin. Uther's son wanting to learn magic. This was going to be interesting.

**THE END**


End file.
